Machine for making and filling bags



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Oct. 9, 1928. 1,686,787

A. M. BATES MACHINE FOR MAKING AND FILLING BAGS Filed Dec. e, lala 9shee'ts-sheet 1 AUTOMA Tlc famd Tfr/5%?.

Oct. 9; 1928. 1,686,787

A. M. BATES MACHINE FOR MAKING AND FILLING BAGS Filed Deo. 6, 1919 9Sheets-Sheet 2 Y l y\ i ttorngg/S oen 9, 1928.

A. M. BATES MACHINE FOR MAKING AND FILLING BAGS 9 Sheets-Sheet 3 FiledDeo. 6, 19l9 Oct. 9, 1928.

A. M. BATES MACHINE FOR MAKING AND FILLING BAGS Filed Dec. 6, 1919 9Sheets-Sheet 4 Oct. 9, 1928. 1,686,787

A. M. BATES MACHINE FOR MAKING AND FILLING BAGS Filed Dec. 6, 1919 9Sheets-Sheet 6 Oct. 9, 1928.

A. M. BATES MACHINE FOR MAKING AND FILLING BAGS 9 Sheets-Sheet 7 FiledDeo. 6, 1919 Oct. 9, 1928.

. A. M. BATES MACHINE FOR MAKING AND FILLING BAGS Filed Deo. 6, 1919 9Sheets-Sheet 8 777557245535. I M 22m fw( gw www/5' Oct. 9, 1928.1,686,787

A. M. BATES MACHINE FOR MAKING AND FILLING BAGS Filed Dec. 6, 1919 9Sheets-Sheet 9 l fnvenor.

Patata Qa. 9,1923.- l y 1,686,787 UNITED STATES 'PATENT' oI-1`=l :r..vAIJBLMEB. 1u. BATES, or cHIcAeo, ILLINOIS, AssIeNoB, BY inf-.SNEASSIGNMENTS, To

BATES vALvE BAG CORPORATION, or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION orDELAWARE Y MAQHINn non MAKING ANB FILLING BAGS. A

Application nled December 6, 1919. Serial No. 343,07-3.

Figure 13 is aplan of a modified arrangement of feed hopper's;

,Figure 14 is a section along the line 14--14 ofFigure 13, showing themodified arrangement of storage tubes when staggered Vgroups of hpppersare used;

Figure 15 is a plan view of the preferred form of jigging plate;

Figure 16 is a plan view of a form of jigging plate;

Figure 17 is a section along the line 17 -17 of Figure 16; Y

Figure 18 is a detail elevation of the end of a storage tube showing thespreader;

Figure 19 is an end view 'of the tube shown in Figure 18, showing bagspread by the spreader; A Y

Figure 20 is a section through a modiiied form of machine with partsomitted, showinga sewing machine adapted to be adjustable in height tochanfe the length of the bag, with the jigging platform in permanentadjustment;

Figure 21 is a plan view of the arrangement shown in Figure 2() with bagsupporting` and jiggingmeans omitted;

igure 2,2 is a the parts shownin the head and Figure 23 is a sectionthrough the end of a-modiied form of storage tube, the bag spread byspreader fingers.

A is an upper supporting iioor upon which is supported a feed hopper A1associated with a plurality of adjustable automatic scales or Y weighingmachines A2- supplied with material to be bagged from any suitablesource, not here shown, and operated by power applied to a belt A3 Iandpulley A4. This hopper A1 is fixed .in place and has a wide open lowerdischarge mouth. A A5 are scale trip members extending down beneath thefloor A, in the present case shown projecting out through the open mouthof the hopper A1 though they'might be otherwise disposed. These tripmembers are each adapted when operated to throw their respective scalesinto operation to' cause such scales to discharge a measured weight ofmaterial into the hopper A1.

B is a central supporting shaft journaled at its upper end at B1,supported by the floor A, vand at its.. Vlower end in the Sleeve Myinventiorfelates to improvements in machines and processes for makingand fill# ing bags. It has for one Object to provide a process whereby aseries of bag tubes 5 stored on storage tubes may be successively drawnoi, filled with material, andv transversely sewed to form bags in anexpeditious and economical manner. Another object is toprovide a machinefor carrying out the process. Another object is to provide new andimproved means for sewing across a -series of tubes successively toforma continuous series of separate filled bags. Other objects willappear fromtime to'time in the specification.

My invention is illustrated -more or less diagrammatically in thevaccompanying drawings, whereine y Figure 1 is a diagrammatic sideelevation of the whole apparatus with parts in section and partsremoved;

Figure 2 is a cross-section on an enlarged scale of the lower part ofFigure 1, showing the bag-supporting and jigging means;

Figure 3 is a section. along the line 3-3 of Figure 2 showing especiallythe Sewing `machine and jigging table drive;

Figure 4 is a section along the line 4-4 of Figure 3, showing thedriving mechanism for ad]usting the Figure 21 with all except of thesewing machine omitted, and especially the means height of the table; i

Figure 5 is a section along the line 5-5 of Figure 3; l I

Figure 6 -is a section on an enlarged scale f' through one of thebag-supporting and jigging blocks; y

Figure 7 is an enlarged detail section along theline 7- 7 of Figure 3,showing one of the screws for raising and lowering the jigging-platform;Figure 8 is a plan view of the ieed hopper assembly in part sectionalong the line 8-8 ot Figure 1; i

Figure 9 is a section alongthe line 9-9- of Figure 1, showing the upperattachment for the storage tubes;

Figure 10 is a section along the line 10-10 of Figure 1, showing thelower attachment for the storage tube and the tube constricting girdle;

Figure 11 is a detailside elevation of the lower spring clamp or girdle;

Figure 12 is a side elevation of two SeWed bags, showing the stitching;

side elevation of some ot showing modified l l n B2 on the mam/machineframe or housing b B3, which housing in turn rests upon the:

lower licor B4. B 1s a hopper wheel 'mounted on the shaft B and provldedabout 5 its periphery with a series of outwardly projecting lugs B,which carry the individual .charge-receiving hoppers B7, which hoppersare adapted successively to pass beneath the discharge mouth of thehopper A1. These hoppers are packed closely together about the peripheryof the ring B5 and each one of them carries upwardly projecting from itslip an adjustable stop B8, which is normally thrown up so as to engageone of the trip members A5 as the hopper passes into register with thefunnel A1. It will be noted that the adjustable stops B8 are differentlypositioned on the hoppers 'so that, as the bag hoppers pass around,successive Weighing machines are caused to successively discharge theirweighed charges, of material into the hopper A1, whence, the chargesimmediately pass into the successive hoppers B7. .It will be noted thatthe adjustable stops B8 are normally held in the uprightposition, butsince they are pivotally mounted they may be dropped down'if desired sothat any individual hopper may pass beneath the main discharge hopperwithout receiving a charge of material. B9

B9 are a series of brackets projecting outwardly from the periphery ofthe wheel'li5 immediately beneath the lugs B6. These brackets havecurved storage tube engaging surfaces as indicated, and have pivoted vontheir outer extremities semi-,circular tube clamps B10, which may beheld by pins or other suitable means in the closed locking position tohold the storage tube B11 in register with the discharge end of thefunnel B7. The adjustable stops Bs, which are held up by the springsB12, may be held out of operation by means of the pull lcords B13 andrings B14, which may be hooked into the hooks Blon a wheel C1, so thatif all the tubing on any one of the storage tubes is paid out that tubemay be thrown out of operation and remain out of operation until a newstorage tube can be supplied, when the operator releases the latch andthe operation of that tube will go on asy before. V

These storage tubes B11 come to the machine each of them with a longlength of bag tubing C puckered thereon. This tubing is formedandthreaded on the storage tube by means or apparatus not here shown, butthere would normally be many hundreds of feet of tubing on each storagetube when that tube is placed in the machine. The o upper end of thetube is detachably fastened in position as above indicated, and thelower end isheld in position by the wheel C1 on the shaft B by means ofa lug C2 projecting outwardly from that wheel and carrying a spiralspring girdle C3 passing through the lug C2 and having at one end a hookC4 and at the other a latch C", whereby the girdle may be stretchedaround the lowei` end of the storage tube and hold that tube 1nposition, at the same time exerting a yielding, clamping eli'ecton thetubing as it is drawn oil' the storage tube, the result of this beingthat the tubing must .be puckered laterally or constri'cted as it isdrawn ofi' the storage tube, and thus there is an appreciable, thoughyielding, resistance to the downward movement of the tubing from thestoragetube. The tubing as it is drawn oil the storage tube isspreadapart by the iiat, funnelshaped extension C6 on the end of thestorage tube. This extension, which is preferably integral with thetube, is very narrow in proportion to its length, and tends to fiattenthe 4tubing as it comes off, so as to get it ready for sewing, but alsoeffectively prevents the tubing from dropping ofi' the storage tube,even if the spring girdle be dis-- pensed with. In Figure 19 an end viewshows the shape of the tubing as it is drawn off this flattened,funnel-like extension.

Attention is here called to a slight modification shown in Figures 13and 14, wherein an Yincreased number of storage tubes is provided for.It will be noted that the lugs B6 and B9 are mounted in p'airs on thewheel B5. If it is desired, supporting members D1 may be added, so thatwe may have two or more rows of hoppers, as shown at D2 D3 in Figure 13.In this case the stora e tubes will be held in position in exactlyt esame manner as before, but there will be an increased number of thesetubes and they will be spaced more closely together about the lowerwheel C1 so that narrower bags can be filled. Attention is called to theseries of differently spaced bolt holes D-4 D5 D D7 on the peripheriesof the Wheels B5 and C1, whereby these different hopper and storage tubesupports may be held in place. By this means the tubes may be adjustedlaterally to compensate for different diameters of bags that are to befilled, more tubes being inserted and being placed more closely togetherwhere the bags are to be of small diameter. Attention is also called tothe modification shown in Figure 23, where there is a sleeve D8 slippedover the end of the storage tube B, which sleeve has an integral ring D9overlying the spring girdle C3, so as to add to the resistance of thetubingas it passes down. Associated with this j sleeve D8 is a yieldingspreader' member D10, which tends to spread the tubing apart in the samemanner as above indicated.

The supporting frame and housing B3 contains a main drive shaft E,driven by any suitable source of power applied to the pulley E1 andsuitably journaledas indicated in the bearings El"v E:lo on bracketsprojecting upwardly from the supporting floor, f' This 130 lio gularvelocity as the upper edge of the main shaft at its inner end carriesaworm E2 in mesh with a worm gear E3. This worm gear is keyed to avertical driving shaft E4, which extends up through the housing Ba andcarries at its upper end a pinion Es in mesh with an internal gear E onthe wheel C1,

so as to cause a gradual rotation of `all of the individual bag-illinhoppers and the group of storage tubes. he continuous movement which isthus imparted to the hoppers and storage tubes does not interfere withthe feed of material because a charge of material is dropped from thehopper A1 immediately into the hopper B", without spilling, at theinstant that the t-wo are in register, and the material has ample timeto gradually run out of the -hopper B7 while the apparatus is rotating.E't is a pinion s lined for longitudinal movement along an held againstrotation with respect to the shaft E, and this pinion is in mesh with aninternal gear E8 on the inside of the bagsupport. The relations betweenthe pinion E"Ir and gear Es and the pinion E5 and gear EB, are such thatthe bag support rotates at the same anthe storage tube assembly. F is anannular supporting ring surrounding the central portion of the frame andhousing B3. It rests on the three elevating. screws F1 F1. These screwsare screwthreaded in fixed nuts F2 Fz in the ioor B* and have splinedthereon the spockets F3, ,fixed in position inside the housing. Thesesprockets F3 are adapted to be rotated in unison by sprocket chain F4driven by a driving sprocket F and crank F", the arrangement being suchthat when the operator rotates the crank the screws are rotated in thenuts by the sprockets and raise or lower the annular ring F to raise andlower the bag supporting and jigging mechanismmounted thereon, and thusprovide for varying the length of the bags. F1 is an annular bagsupporting trough or frame. It is provided with rollers Fs travelingalong annular ring F and carrying on its inner side the internal gear Esabove referred to. This trough or bagsupporting member is divided by theradial walls F into a plurality of bag-supporting compartments, t oughof course these walls might be dispensed with and bags be held inposition by other means, and each off these compartments has a centrallydisposed aper ture F10 in its bottom. The bag` rests on the bottom floorof this compartment and the bag is jigged by jigging means operatingupon it through this aperture.

The jigging means takes the form of a plate G having downwardlyprojecting lugs G1 and pivoted on pins Gr2 in the ring F. This plate isrocked by means of an eccentric rod G3 terminating in an eccentric strapG4 on the eccentric G5. This eccentric is mounted on a shaft G anddriven by means of a gear G7 and drive shaft E, so t at this constantlyrocks beneath the bag support as the bag-supporting channel rotatesabove it. The eccentric rod length to allow for the adjustment of thebag supporting and jigging tables and Vis held by the set screw G30.' Inthe modified form shown in Figure 15 the two segmental iigaeg form shownin Fig. 16 the jiggdng plate G15, move vertically, being guided by theupright pins G11 G11 and being -driven by ecceutrics or cams G12 on aneccentric or cam shaft G13. By setting the cams G12 the cam shaft inFig. 15, the plates move up and down alternately to check vibration. 'Itwill be noted that there is a dead space where anion os from the man. l

flat annular plate G3 is adjustable as to 70 plates G G10, and in thcmodified I5 on oppos'te sides of 80 there is n o jigging plate, because,for reasons which will subsequently appear, it is nec- S5 each bagpocket is higher at the center than v at the ends, as shown at H, thepurpose of this being to tend todeflect material in the bag down to thecorners of the bag, thus filling the corners and providing aproperlyfilled bag.' H1 is a flexible strip which may 'or may not extendthroughout the entire eriphery of the bag-supporting device. T isflexible strip is rigidly mounted on the bagsupporting member and moveswith it as it rotates, and it carries a plurality of reslient rubber,leather, or even wood blocks H2, adapted to rest upon the jigging platesG or G, G1, G15, andadapted as these jigging plates move up, and down tobe repeatedly thrust by such movements upwardly into each bag pocketthrough the aperture in the floor thereof to jig the bags and cause notbe jigged. In the G10, and in this case the plate 9" lil?) llo thematerial to settle therein. The flexible strip or belt is, of course,narrow enough so that it can enter with the block into the bag pocketand it serves the doublepurpose of keeping the blocks in proper positionand causing them to move with the bag-supporting apparatus and, when themodified forms show'n in Figures 15 and 16 are used, preventing theblocks from dropping out and getting lost when the dead point in thejigging mechanism is being passed.

Projecting outwardly from the housing and ram'e B3 is a sewing machinehead I, having the two separate needles I1 I1. This sewing machine isoperated by a shaft I1 which, in turn. is driven by a mitre pinion I4from the mitre gear 15 on the shaft E. I is a presser foot tending topress the fab- 'of successive bags,

i when a short bag is to be ric of the bag over against `the 'platen I7,mounted on the bracket I8, which projects up from the frame B8. Thedriving wheel I? in this platen is drivenl by the shaft I1", mitre gearI11 yand mitre pinion I12 from the shaft E, and the arrangement of theapparatus is'such that as the operator pulls down the tubing and allowsit to be filled the sewing machine makes two continuous, parallel rowsof stitches through the walls the space between the bags being such thatthere is just a short distance between adjacent bags during which thestitching `continues, as shown in Figure 12, so that when the stitchingbetween the bags is cut there is suiiicient material on either side toprevent rayeling of the seam.

Associated with the presser foot and platen is a cutting knife Ils,which automatically severs the fabric between the two rows of stitches,so that when the stitching is finished the bag has been separated fromthe bag tube.

In Fi res 20, 2l and 22 is shown a slightly modi ed form. Themodification consists in this, that instead of moving the whole ji ggingapparatus and bag-supporting mechanism upwardly toward the sewingmachine and toward the ends of the storage tubes filled. means areprovided for adjusting the position of the sewing machine head towardand from a bag support which is not vertically adjustable. In this caseit will be noted that there is an annular ring K resting on the mainframe and it supports the bag-carrying mechanism anism. K1 is a sewingmachine bracket projecting up from the main frame. It has a vertical,slotted supporting surface K2 and the head vof the machine K3 is mountedfor movement along that surface, being adapted to be held in positionthereon by the l'bolts the rows of machine.

K4 K4. K5 is a splinecl solid shaft mounted for longitudinal movement inthe hollow shaft K6, which hollow shaft is guided at its upper end by abearing K7 on the bracket K1 and at its lower end is driven by thepinion K8 and gear K9 from the shaft E, thus permitting a telescopicrelation between the shafts K5 and KG while taking the drive throughthem, no matter .what their longitudinal arrangement. The shaft K5drives the two needle bars K1o K11 to make the two parallel stitches. Italso drives the: feeder K12 on the platen K13, so that the entire.sewing machine as a unit is mounted on the bracket Kll and may be movedadj ustably in a vertical direction to provide for varying lengths ofbags. K1' is the cutting knife adapted to sever the bag tubing betweenstitches as before.

I have shown a more or less complicated Its complication largely arises,

however, from the fact that a number of lmy machine, and I and inclosesthe jigging mech-` lan exterior clamp,

co-operating parts are brought together to carry o na continuous processwhereby bags `are filled, s ewed up and severed from a l stored lengthof bag tubing by an automatic arrangement, and clearly, while I haveshown a' preferred arrangement and structure, there might be manychanges-and I have shown a few of them-in many of the different partsco-operating to make up wish, therefore, that my drawings be regarded asin a sense diagrammatic.

It will be noted that at the place where the sewing is done the bag isnot jigged, because in one form the axis of rotation of the jiggingplate passes through that point and in the other forms the jigging plateis cut away or. depressed, as shown in Fig. 15, or depressed,` as shownat G14 in Figs. 16 and 17. The reason for this is that it would not dpto jig the bag while sewing it, but it 1s desirable to ji v it elsewhereduring its passage. A goo result is given by an increase of the jiggingmovement while the material is being fed 9" into the bag, and such anincrease in jigging Irovement is given by the rocking jigging p ate.

The use and operation of my invention are as follows 95 Assuming thatthe tubing from which the bags are to be made has been madein anydesired manner'and from any suitable material, it will have beenthreaded upon. the feed tube so that a very great length of bag tubingwill have been received upon the exterior of the feed tube. The tubingis held in position on the feed tube in any desired manner, as forexample by means of an enlarged end Whose cross section is approximatelythe normal cross section of the bag tube, or by anv inside tubespreader, elastic or otherwise, or by elastic or otherwise, which wouldsurround both the tubing and the feed tube. Any or all of these or anysimilar devices may be used jointly or separately, and, is desired, maybe arranged so as to be removably mounted on or associated with thelower ends of the feed tubes. In the preferred form the lower ordischarge end of 115 the feed tube is very much larger in cross sectionthan the body of the tube. The upper end of the tube may be of the samecross sectionas the tube body or a little larger for convenlence inreceiving the charge or, under certain conditions, it may have a chargereceiver mounted upon it, and integral with it. In the preferred formthe charge receiver is separately mounted but in register with the feedtube and the enlargement at the upper end of the tube is smaller thanthe spreader. Thus it willbe seen that the arrangement is such that thetubes can b e conveniently-:supplied with tubing by threading it on overthe upper or smaller end `,of the feed tube and 13" the tubing will beheld in position by the lower enlargement on the feed tube.

The feed tubes with the tubingr threaded thereon areattached to thesupporting wheels so as to bring the bottom ends of the tubing, whenspread, into the relation shown in Figs. 12 and 22, the proper holes D,D, D and D7 being selected for the purpose. When the bags are in thisrelation the sewing machine can berun continuously without undue wastewhile the tube support is rotating. It will be noted that the individualcharge receiver B" associated with each tube is materially furtheracross the top than the distance across the bag tubing when spread, sothat it is necessary that the lower ends of the feed tubes be nearertogether in their path oftravel than are the upper ends, in order tobring the filled bags in proper position for closing and severing.Ordinarily the slanting arrangement shown in Fig. 1 is sufficient forachieving this result, but where smaller bag tubes are to be filled itmay be necessary at times to use the mounting shown in Figs. 13 and 14,whereby the upper ends of the feed tubes are staggered. The onestationary discharge hopper A is suficient to feed all the tubes, as itcan discharge very quickly into the large mouthed hoppers B7. Asthe-successive weighings might not take place quickly enough with oneweighing machine, it is convenient to have a series of such weighingmachines, `as shown. With such a series and with individual tripperswhich i selectively trip the different scales, it is also possible toadjust the different scales for different vcharges and to mount tubes ofappropriate diameters on the feed tubes into which the respective scaleswill discharge.

The feed tubes are ordinarily much smaller than the distended bagtubing, as a great length of bag tubing is ordinarily threaded upon acomparatively short length of feed tube, there lbeing' in practiceenough bag tubing threaded on one feed tube to make about 400 bags. Thebag tubing is, therefore, several times as large in cross section as thefeed tube. For this reason it may require an appreciable time for thematerial to feed down through the feed tube to the bottom of the tubing,and this time is afforded while the tubes are moving from chargereceiving to sewing positions, and during this time, the jigging deviceassists in packing the material into the end of the tubing.

The process of depositing or positioningthe charge in feeding relationto the tube with the charge having a cross section materially greaterthan the cross section of the feeding tube is capable of being carriedout by various mechanisms; and independentl of the particular mechanismused it wil achieve its object of allowing the deposition of the chargeto be accomplished, more quickly than it could be fed through the comingis continued during the movement of the feed tube and bag; and thejigging of the bottom end of the feed tube during this same movementaids in speeding up the rocess. Likewise, impeding the passage of t etube from the zone in which it is collapsed and the pulling of it fromthat zone as needed may be done by any suitable apparatus and is afeature which is found to be vital.

Vhile the best results 'for an eflicient and satisfactory machine areachieved by the usev of the preferred forms herein shown and described,it is obvious that many of the separateyfeatures have utility whichmight be partially realized in other relations, and 1t is also obviousthat the exact construction of the various features might be variouslymodified while still retaining many of the advantages above mentioned..I do not wish, therefore, to be confined by the structure shown-beyondthe terms of the appended claims.

In the appended claims the phrase an elongated bag tube is used todescribe a tube long enough to make a plurality of bags.

I claim:

1. In a machine for making filled bags from a bag tube and fillingmaterial, the combination of a supporting frame, a feed tube adapted tocarry an elongated bag tube, means for removably attachin the feed tubeto the supporting frame, an av separately mounted charge-receiveradapted to receive the charge and deliver it to the feed tube.

2. In a machine for making filled bags from a bag tube, and fillingmaterial, a supporting frame, a feed tube adapted to carry an elongatedbag tube, means for removably attaching said feed tube to the framewhile the bag tube is in position thereon and a charge-receiver adaptedto receive the charge and deliver it to the feed tube.

3. In a machine for making filled bags from bag tubes and fillingmaterial, the combination of' a series of feed tubes adapted each tocarry a bag tube collapsed thereon, means for removably securing thefeed tubes in position on a rotary frame, a bag-tube closing machinebelow and a charge supplying machine above the feed tubes, means forrotating the frame so as to bring the tubes successively in registerwith such charge supplying machine and such closing machine, and meanswhereby the rotation of the frame causes the charge supplying device tooperate.

4. In a machine for making filled bags from bag tubes and fillingmaterial, the combination of a series of removably-mounted feed tubeseach adapted to carry an elongated bag tube, a-serles ofcharge-delivering devices, means responsive to the .movementchargereceiving device.

.of the feed tubes for operating said chargedelivering devices insuccession asv the tubes move past the same, a series ofvcharge-'receiving devices one for eachtube and associated so as totravel therewitl1,and a guide which receives a chargefrom each.charge-delivering device and guides it to a particular adapted to clampand constrict the bag tubeabout the feed tube, said girdle being made upof a spiral spring with a hook at one end anda latch at the otherwhereby the girdle may be clampedabout the tube.

7. The comb'nation with a bag forming tube, of a feed tube passingtherethrough, a

yielding girdle surrounding them both and adapted to clamp and constrictthe bag tube about the feed tube, said girdle being made .up of a spiralspring with a hook at one end and a latch at the other whereby thegirdle may be clamped about the tube, and

.i a support for said girdle comprising a loop surrounding itintermediate its ends and holding itin position while allowing 1t toexpand and contract..

8.' The 'combination with a bag formlng tube, of a feed tube passingtherethrough, a

yieldino girdle surrounding them both and adapted to clamp andconsti-ict the bag tube about the feed tube, saidgirdle-beingpermanently held intermediate its ends and havingmeans wherebythe endsmay be joined together Vto lock the girdle in position.-`

9. I n a bag filling machine, a pair of wheels spaced apart andmountedforrotation. upon the same axis, bag tubes mounted between-saidwheels, and filling hoppers supported on the upper of said wheels inregister with vsaid tubes.

'10. In a bag filling machine, a pair .of wheels spaced apart andmounted for rotation upon the same-axis, bag tubes mounted between saidwheels, .filling hoppers supported on the upper of said wheels inregister with said tubes, a charge-supplying mechanism and means formanipulating it to discharge successive chargesof material into saidhoppers as they rotate.

11. In a bag filling machine, a horizontallydisposed wheel and means forrotating it, a. plurality of downwardly-discharging funnels spaced aboutthe per'phery of the wheel, a plurality of tubes detachably attached attheir upper ends at the periphery '.riphery of the wlieel Y dischargeends of of the wheelin register.with the discharge' ing it, a pluralityof downwardly-discharg--- ing funnels spaced'about the per'phery of thewheel, a plurality of feed tubes detachably attached at their upper endsat the pe- .in register with the said funnels, a lower wheel andyielding means for d tachably holding the lower ends of said tube inplace upon the periphery thereof, and afseries of puckered' bag tubes onsaid feed tubes and adapted to be yielding means and to have theirmovements longitudinally away from the tube yieldingly resisted 13. Inabag of receiving hoppers arranged in a plurality of concentricsubstantially continuous rings, means for selectively supplying fillingmaterial to a plurality of storage tubes each of them in register withone of'said hoppers, a bag' forming tube threaded on each of saidstorage tubes, means for holding the tubes in position with their lowerends in a singlecircle, and means for drawing the bag thereby.

ltubes off the storage tubes and closing the ends thereof to form bags.

14. In a bag making and filling machine adapted to feed out a length ofbag tubing, means for filling the bag, means for jigging the bag, andmeans for end of the length and separating it from the tube to form abag, together with means,

comprising a movable frame for -adjustably positioning the bagsupporting and jigging means with relation to the sewing and separatingmeans to permit the making and filling of different sized bags, meansfor adjusting said frame vertically, a jigging plate rotatably mountedthereonand a bag support rotatably mounted thereon above the jiggingplate. f

In a machine for making filled bags from bag tubes and illingmaterial,the combination of a feed tube adapted to have threaded thereon alongitudinally collapsed bag tube, engage the inside of. the bag tubeand distend it-as it is drawn from the feed tube.

16. In a machine for making filled bags from bag tubes and fillingmaterial, the combination of a feed tube adapted to have threadedthereon a longitudinally collapsed constricted thereon by saidnuingmachine, .a plurality.

-ends of said funnels, and a lower wheel and sewing the upper withyielding means adapted to largement adjacent the girdle.

v17. In a machine for making filled bags from bag tubes and fillingmaterial, the combination of a feed tube adapted to havelthreaded'thereon a longitudinally collapsed bag tube with anelasticgirdle around the outside of the bag tube and one end of the feed tube,and a removable vsleeve on the end of the-feed tube having an annularensleeve beneath the shoulder and adapted to yieldingly resist thelongitudinal withdrawal of the tube around such shoulder.

19. In a 'machine for making filled bags from bag tubesy and fillingmaterial, the combination of a feed tube adapted to have threadedthereon a longitudinally collapsed bag tube with an elastic girdlearound the outside of the bag tube and one end of the feed tube, and aremovable sleeve on the end of the feed tube having an annularenlargement just above the girdle and having yielding fingers on itslower end adapted to spread the bag tube as it is drawn thereover. Y l

20. In a machine for making filled bags from bag tubes and fillingmaterial, aesupport, a feed tube adapted to have threaded lthereon ameans for attaching one end of the feed tube to the support at a pointbeyond where the bag tube extends, and means encircling the other end ofthe bag tube about the feed tube and attached to the support.

21. In a machine for making filled bags from bag tubes and fillingmaterial, a support, a feed tube attached at its upper end to thesupport and`adapted to have threaded A thereon a longitudinallycollapsed bag tube,

and an elastic girdle attached to the support and adapted to encirclethe-bag tube around the lower end of the feed tube.

2Q. In a machine for making filled bags v from bag tubes and fillingmaterial, a support, a feed tube attached at its upper end to thesupport andv adapted'to have threaded thereon a longitudinally collapsedbag tube, a coil spring, a clip attaching'the coil to the supportadjacent the lower end of the feed tube, and a latch for uniting theends of the coil to form an elastic girdle encirv cling the bag tubearound the lower end of the feed tube. l

23. In a machine for making filled bags from bag tubes and fillingmaterial` a support, a feed tube adapted to have threaded longitudinallycollapsed bag tube, means for detachably securing the feed tube inapproximately vertical position upon the support, said feed tube havingan enlarged longitudinally collapsed bag tube,l

24. In a machine for making filled bags from ba tubes and fillingmaterial a support, a eed tube adapted to have threaded thereon alongitudinally collapsed bag tube, means for attaching one end of thefeed tube to the support at a point beyond where the bag tube extends,means attached to the su port and adapted to encircle the bag tu earound the other end of the feed tube, and a sewing machine adapted tosew a seam across the bag tube beneath the feed tube,

25. In a machine for making filled bags from bac' tubes and fillinmaterial, a support, a feed tube attache at its upper end to the supportand adapted* to have threaded thereon a longitudinally collapsed bagtube, an elastic girdle attached to the support and adapted to encirclethe bag tube around the lower end of the feed tube, and a sewing mechineadapted to sew a seam across the bag tube beneath the feed tube.

26. In a machine for making filled bags from bag tubes and fillingmaterial, a plurality of feed tubes each adapted to carry alongitudinally collapsed'bag tube, a support, means for detachablyfastening the feed tubes to the support in substantially verticalpositions, means to move the support to carry the tubes in an endlesspat a hopper attached to the'support above and in registry with 'eachfeed tube, a sewing machine in the path of the bag tubes be neath thefeed tubes, and means to actuate the sewing machine continuously duringthe movement of the support.

27. In a machine for making filled `bags from bag tubes and fillingmaterial, a plurality of feed tubes each adapted to carry alongitudinally collapsed bag tube, a support,

means for detachably fastening the feedA tubes to the support insubtantially vertical positions, the upper ends of said feed tubes beingmore widely separated than their bottom ends, means to continuously movethe support to carry the tubes in an endless path, a hopper attached tothe support above and in registry with each feed tube, a sewing machinein the path of the bag tubes beneath the feed tubes, and means toactuate the sewing machine continuously.

28..In a machine for making filled bags from-ban tubes andfilling'material, a plurality of feed tubes each adapted to carry alongitudinally collapsed bag tube, a support, means for detachablyfastening the feed tubes to the support in substantially verticalpositions, means to continuously move the support to carry the tubes inan endless path, a hopper attached to the support above and in registrywith each feed lun lofi

llO'

hopper, i receiver adapted to cause one measurer to l wheels, one abovethe other,

lper wlieel including tube, a stationary hopper beneath which .thesupport carried ho'ppers` pass in succession, a plurality of chargemeasuring devices discharging in succession into the same stationaryhopper, a sewing machine in the path of the bag tubes beneath the feedtubes, and means to actuate the sewing Vmachine continuously. y

29. In a packaging device, a series of movable charge receivers, astationary hopper be-v neath which the receivers are brought insuccession, a series of stationary charge measurers adapted to dischargeinto the stationary hopper, and means carried by the movable receiversfor causing the measurers to discharge in succession, the means asso--ciated with one receiver causing but one ineasurer to discharge.

30. In a packaging machine, a series of movable receivers,` a stationaryhopper beneath which the lreceivers pass in succession, a plurality ofstationary charge measurers adapted to discharge into the stationary atrip. device associated with each discharge into the hopper, and meansfor holding the trip device in inoperative position.

31'. In a machine for making 'filled bags from bag tubes and fillingmaterial, a plurality of feed tubes each adapted to carry alongitudinally collapsed bag tube, two` wheels, one above the other,

adapted to rotate about the same vertical axis, and means for detachablysecuring the selected points to tlie circumferences of said wheels. g

32. In a machine for making filled bags from bag tubes and fillingmaterial, a plurality of feed ftubes each adapted to carry alongitudinally collapsed bag tube, two

adapted to roaxis, means for tubes at selected tate about the samevertical detachably securing the feed points to tlie circumferences ofsaid wheels,

the means for attaching the tubes to the upbrackets whereby the upperend of each alternate tube is held at a 'distance from the circumferenceof the wheel.

33. In a machine for making filled bags from tubes and filling material,means for supporting a plurality of bag tubes in substantially verticalpositions with their bottoms arranged in an endless series, said supportbeing adjustable for moving the bottoms of adjacent tubes to or fromeach other, means forodepositing charges of filling material in-saidtubes in succession, a sewing machine, and means for producingcontinuous relative` movement between said sewing machine and the bagtubes, whereby the machine may sew across each tube in succession abovethe successively deposited charges.

feed tubes at' 34. In a machine for making filled bags from bag tubesand filling material, a plurality of feed tubcs each adapted to carry(adapted to deposit charges of filling material in the tubes as theysuccessively come into lregistry sewing machine below said feed tubesyand adapted to sew across each bag tube in succession above thedeposited charge.

35. In a bag filling machine, a support for the bottoms of the bagscomprising an annular trough divided into compartments by transversepartitions." v

36. In a bag filling machine, a support for the bottom of the bagcomprising a box havino` a raised center with an opening therethrough,and a jigger adapted to operate through said openino.

`37'. In a bag filling mac'hine, an annular bag carrying support, aplurality of bag holding pockets arranged thereon, means for filling thebags, means for tampingthem, means for closing them, and means forrotatino` said annular bag support, the closing -and lling means beingoperative at only one point in the path of each bag, the tamping meansbeing operative throughout the larger portion of the support.

38. A bag supporting device comprising an annular trough, a plurality ofradial walls dividing said `trough into a plurality of pockets, thebottom wall of each of said pockets being upwardly inclined towardgitscenter.

39. In a machine for from bag tubes and filling material, a plurality offeed tubes each adapted to carry a longitudinall collapsed bag tube, asupport, means for dietachably fastening the -feed tubes to the supportin substantially vertical positions, means to continuously move thesupport to carry the tubes in an endless path, 'a hopper attached to thesupport above and in registry with each feed tube, a stationary hopperbeneath which the support carried hoppers making fined bags therewith,and a stationary i i lll passin succession, a sewing machine in the pathof the bag tubes beneath the feed of receiving hoppers arranged in aplurality of concentric substantially continuous rings, a plurality offeed tubes each adapted to have threaded thereon a bag tube and eachhaving its upper end lin register with a rceeiving hopper, and means forholding the tubes in position with their lower ends in a single circle.

41. In a bag filling machine, a plurality of receiving hoppers arrangedin a plurality of concentric substantially continuous rings,a pluralityof feed tubes and each adapted to have threaded thereon a bag tube andeach having its upper end in register with a receiving hopper, means forholding the tubes in position with their lower ends in a single circle,a spreader on the lower end of each feed tube elongatedcircumferentially of said circle, and a sewing machine adapted to sewseams across the bag tubes beneath the feed tubes in succession.

42. In a machine for making filled bags from bag tubes and fillingmaterial, means tol guide and support the upper end of a bag tube, meansto support the'lower end of a bag tube, means to deposit in the tube acharge of material, means for'sewing a' seam across the bag tube abovethe depositedl charge, and means for adjustably position-4 inf` the bagholding and jigging means with re ation to the sewing means to adapt themachine for different lengths of bags.

43. In a machine for making lled bags from bag tubes and fillingmaterial, means for rotatably supporting and guiding the upper ends ofa. series of lengthsl of bag tubing, means for supporting the bottoms ofsaid lengths of tubing, means for filling charges into the said lengths,means for jiging the lower ends of the lengths, and means or sewingacross the tubing above the charges, the means for supporting andjigging the lower ends of the bag lengths comprising a movable frame,means for adjusting said frame vertically, a. jigging plate rotatablymounted on the frame, and a bag `bottom support rotatably mounted on theframe above the jigging plate.

44. In a bag.` filling machine a large number of receiving hoppershaving constricted discharge apertures, a guiding hopper adapted to comeinto register with them successively, a plurality of automatic scalesall adapted to discharge their loads into the guidinor hopper, selectivemeans for automatcally tripping said -scales to cause an instantaneousdischarge of a pre-Wei hed charge of material throughthe guiding opperinto successive receiving hoppers, means for operating said scales toweigh out another charge as soon as one has been discharged, and meansfor moving the receiving hoppers in a closed path beneath the guidinghopper at such rate that Y each receiving hopper will have dischargedits contents between successive visits to the guiding hopper and at suchrate that each scale will have time to Weigh out a new charge before thenext receiving hopper into which it is to discharge reaches the guidinghopper.

45. In a bag filling machinel a large number of receiving hoppers havingconstricted discharge apertures, a guiding hopper adapted to come intoregister with them successively, a plurality of automatic scales alladapted to discharge their loads into the guiding hopper, selectivemeans for automatically tripping said scales to cause an instantaneousdischarge of a pre-weighed charge of material through the guiding hopperinto successive receiving hoppers, means for operating said scales toweigh out another charge as soon as one has been discharged, means formoving the hoppers in a closed path beneath the guiding hopper at suchrate that each receiving hopper will have discharged its load betweensuccessive visits to the guiding hopper and at such rate that each scalewill have time to weigh out a new charge before the next receivinghopper into which it is to discharge reaches the guidinghopper, aplurality of feed tubes in register with the receiving hoppers, therebeing a bag forming tube threaded upon each of said feed tubes, meansfor drawing the bag tube off such feed tubes to form ,it into bags, andmeans for returning the receiving hoppers to the guiding hopper at sucha rate that the charge will have had .time to run out of the receivinghopper and its associated feed tube before its next visit to the guidinghopper.

In testimony whereof, I afiix my signature this third day of` December,1919.

ADELMER M. BATES.

